Travel steam iron-folding handle reservoir



J. E. VANCE Sep a; 18, W56

TRAVEL STEAM IRON-FOLDING HANDLE RESERVOIR Filed Dec. 8, 1953 Fig. i

Fig. 2

United States Patent TRAVEL STEATM IRON-FOLUINGHANDLE RESERVOIR John E. Vance, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hopver (ZompanygNorfithCanton, fihio a :corporationof Ohio Application December 8, '1953,Ser'ia'l ,No.396,957

4 Claims. (Cl. 38-77) This invention relates to electric irons which may be used as a steam iron or as -a 'dry iron 'and which is especially designed as a travel iron to be folded into a collapsed position, thus adapting it {to be stored {in restr'icted spaces such as travelers luggage, etc.

According to the present invention, the handle is formed as a .water reservoir which may be folded ,to one side or the other for storage purposes in order to reduce the total height of the iron so that the iron will require little storage space and thus may be easily packed for storage or transport.

According to another feature of the invention, a conduit is formed in one handle leg leading from the water reservoir in the handle proper to a flash boiler formed in the sole plate. The arrangement is such that the flow of water to the flash boiler is automatically cut off when the handle is moved to its folded position.

According to another feature of the present invention, a vent opening is provided in the handle reservoir which may be easily closed when the handle is moved to folded position. The handle reservoir, at the front end, is provided with a removable plug or closure whereby the handle reservoir may be easily filled with the iron resting on its heel and may be easily emptied if that is desired, before holding the handle into its storage position.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side plan view of the present invention, partly in section, and showing the details of construction; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with the handle shown in the folded position.

Referring to the drawings the reference numeral represents the sole plate proper with a metallic sheathtype heating element 11, of well-known construction, embedded therein. The upper surface of the sole plate 10 is undercut to form a flash boiler 12 and a baflled steam passage 13 which are closed by a cover plate 14 screwed or otherwise secured to the sole plate 10. The cover plate is also formed with steam passages in its under surface which connect steam passage 13 with openings 19 extending through the sole plate in a manner well known in the art.

The sole plate 10, cover plate 14, and steam passages may be constructed in the manner shown and described in an application filed by me on June 27, 1952, Serial No. 295,950, now Patent No. 2,668,378, dated February 9, 1954.

A cover shell 15 overlies the sole plate 10 and is attached thereto in any suitable manner. At its rear end the cover shell 15 is extended beyond the rear end of the sole plate 10 as shown at 16. A conductor 17 is led into one side of the rear end 16 of the cover shell and is electrically connected to the heating element 11 through a thermostatically controlled switch (not shown) of any well-known construction. The switch may be controlled 2 by a control .dial 18 positioned above .the cover shell 15 in .a .manner wellknown in .the art.

A valve body 20 is staked .or otherwise secured to the cover plate 14 immediately above the flash boiler ,12. The valve body 20 extends upwardly through .anopening in the cover shell .15 and is provided with a transference bore 21 for a purpose which .will,presently appear. .An aperture or port 22 extends longitudinally downwardly through the valve body 20 and connects the bore 21 with the flash boiler 12.

,A handle '30 'is pivotallysecured to :the sole plate .10 in ,a manner which will be presently described. "The (handle T30 is hollow to form .a water reservoir :31, .the front open ,end '32 of which .is closed by .a removable plug or cork "33 which may "be removed for filling .or emptying .the reservoir 31.

The handle 30 is provided with .a front leg 34 and a rear leg ,The rear leg 351's ,p'ivoted in any suitable manner to a lag '36 extending upwardly from the sole pla'te through an opening in thecover shell 15.. The .front leg 34 is in the form of ,a tube .eommuuicaiingat its ,upper end with the interior of fhe reservoir 31, and at its lower end being formed as a hollow trunnion 36' mounted in the bore 21. The trunnion 36 is suitably secured and sealed to the valve body 20 as shown in Fig. 1.

The trunnion 36 is provided with an opening 37 through its walls which communicates with the aperture or port 22 in the valve body 20 when the handle 30 is in its upright operative position, so that water may flow from the reservoir 31 into the flash boiler 12.

The rear end 40 of the handle 30 cooperates with the rear end 16 of the cover shell 15 to form a support upon which the iron may be supported in an upended rearwardly inclined position.

A spring biased latch 41 is pivoted to the lug 36 by which the handle 30 may be latched in its vertical operative position or released for movement to its folded position.

The handle 30 is provided with a rotatable valve member 42 having an opening 43 adapted to be aligned with a vent opening 44 through the walls of the reservoir 31 in a manner which will be presently described.

Operation If the iron is to be used as a dry ion, the reservoir 31 is left empty or is emptied by removing the cork 33 and pouring out any water which may be contained therein.

If the iron is to be used as a steam iron, and the reservoir 31 is empty, the valve 42 is rotated to close the vent 44 and the iron upended on its heel so as to rest on the rear ends 16 and 40 of the cover shell and handle respectively. The cork 33 is then removed and water poured into the handle reservoir 31 until it is filled. No water will flow into the tube 34 because of the backward incline of the iron as it rests on its heel.

The control dial 18 may then be operated to energize the heating element 11 after which the iron may be returned to ironing position. Water will then flow through tube 34 and pass through port 22 into the flash boiler 12 where it will be vaporized into steam which will flow through the steam passages and be ejected through the steam ports 19 extending through the sole plate 10. If it is desired to shut off the flow of water temporarily or otherwise, the latch 41 is released and the handle 30 moved to one side or the other to'close the port 22. If desired, the latch 41 may be so formed as to hold the handle in a slightly tilted position with the port 22 closed whereby the iron may then be used as a dry iron. In that position, the vent opening will be uppermost whereby it will not be necessary to rotate the valve 42 to closed position.

If it is desired to store the iron, and the reservoir 31 3 contains water, the vent valve 42 is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 2 to close the vent 44, the latch 41 is released, and the handle 30 is folded downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2. In that position the total height of the iron is reduced so that it may be readily stored as for travel purposes. The vent opening 44 and the port 22 will then both be closed so that no water may leak out.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the invention provides an electric iron which may be readily converted from steam to dry ironing and which may be readily folded into a compact package for storage or transport.

While I have shown and described but a single embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that that embodiment is illustrative only. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but wish to include all variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. An electric iron comprising, a sole plate, heating means therefor, said sole plate being formed with a boiler chamber to convert water into stream, a handle pivotally mounted on said sole plate on a horizontal axis and normally occupying a vertically extending position, a water reservoir formed in said handle, said handle including a conduit for conducting water from said reservoir to said boiler, and valve means operative to cut off the flow of Water from the reservoir to said boiler when said handle is moved from its normal vertical position.

2. An electric iron according to claim 1 in which said conduit forms the front supporting leg of said handle.

3. An electric iron according to claim 1 in which said handle is movable to a folded position to one side of said sole plate and in which position said valve means is closed. v

4. 'An electric iron according to claim 3 including a vent opening in said reservoir and valve means for closing said vent opening when said handle is moved to folded position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,313,124 Seldin Aug. 12, 1919 2,433,556 Hume Dec. 30, 1947 2,540,579 Hanner Feb. 6, 1951 2,542,858 Boring Feb. 20, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 734,834 Germany Apr. 27, 1943 

